Yusuf (Arabic: يُوْسُف ٱبْن يَعْقُوْب ٱبْن إِسْحَاق ٱبْن إِبْرَاهِيْم, romanized: Yūsuf ibn Yaʿqūb ibn ʾIs-ḥāq ibn ʾIbrāhīm, lit. 'Joseph, son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham') is a prophet and messenger of God mentioned in the Qur'an and corresponds to Joseph, a person from the Hebrew and Christian Bible who was said to have lived in Egypt before the New Kingdom. Amongst Jacob's children, Yusuf reportedly had the gift of prophecy through dreams. Although the narratives of other prophets are presented in a number of surah, Joseph's complete narrative appears in only one: Yusuf. Said to be the most detailed narrative in the Quran, it mentions details that do not appear in its biblical counterpart.

Yusuf is believed to have been the eleventh son of Ya'qub (Arabic: يعقوب) and, according to a number of scholars, his favorite. Ibn Kathir wrote, "Jacob had twelve sons who were the eponymous ancestors of the tribes of the Israelites. The noblest, the most exalted, the greatest of them was Joseph." The narrative begins with Joseph revealing a dream to his father, which Jacob recognizes. In addition to the role of God in his life, the story of Yusuf and Zulaikha (Potiphar's wife in the Old Testament) became a popular subject of Persian literature and was elaborated over centuries.

The story of Joseph in the Qurʾān is a continuous narrative in its twelfth chapter, named Surah Yusuf (Arabic: يوسف‎ سُورَة, lit. 'the chapter of Joseph'). There are over one hundred verses in this chapter, encompassing many years; they "present an amazing variety of sciences and characters in a tightly-knit plot, and offer a dramatic illustration of some of the fundamental themes of the Qurʾān." The Qur'an notes the story's importance in the third verse: "and We narrate unto you aḥsanal-qaṣaṣ (Arabic: أحسن ٱلقصص, lit. 'best (or most beautiful) of stories')" (Qur'an, 12:3). Most scholars believe that this refers to Joseph's story; others, including al-Tabari, believe that it refers to the Qur'an as a whole. It documents the execution of God's rulings despite the challenge of human intervention ("And God hath full power and control over His affairs; but most among mankind know it not").

Muhammad at-Ṭabari provides detailed commentary on the narrative in his chapter on Joseph, relaying the opinions of other well-known scholars. In al-Ṭabari's chapter, the physical beauty of Joseph and his mother Rahyl is introduced; they were said to have had "more beauty than any other human being." His father, Jacob, had given him to his (Jacob's) oldest sister to be raised. Al-Ṭabari writes that there was no greater love than what Joseph's aunt felt for him, since she raised him as her own; reluctant to return him to Jacob, she kept him until her death. According to al-Ṭabari, she could do this because of a belt given to her by her father, Isaac: "If someone else acquired it by guile from the person who was supposed to have it, then he would become absolutely subject to the will of the rightful owner." Joseph's aunt puts the belt on Joseph when Jacob is absent; she accuses Joseph of stealing it, and he remains with her until her death. Jacob is reluctant to give Joseph up, and favors him when they are together.

The narrative begins with a dream, and ends with its interpretation. As the sun appeared over the horizon, bathing the earth in morning glory, Joseph (son of Jacob) awakens delighted by a pleasant dream. Filled with excitement, he runs to his father and reports what he saw.

Joseph said to his father: "O my father! I did see eleven stars and the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrate themselves to me!

— Qur'an 12:4

According to Ibn Kathir, Jacob knows that Joseph will become important in this world and the next. He recognizes that the stars represent his brothers; the sun and moon represent himself and Joseph's mother, Rachel (Arabic: راشيل). Jacob tells Joseph to keep the dream secret to protect him from the jealousy of his brothers, who are unhappy with Jacob's love for Joseph. He foresees that Joseph will be the one through whom the prophecy of his grandfather, Ibrahim, would be fulfilled: his offspring would keep the light of Abraham's house alive and spread God's message to mankind. Abu Ya'ala interpreted Jacob's reaction as an understanding that the planets, sun, and moon bowing to Joseph represented "something dispersed which God united." Jacob tells Joseph, "My son, relate not thy vision to thy brothers, lest they concoct a plot against thee: for Satan is a clear enemy to humanity. Thus your Lord has selected you and given you the knowledge to interpret dreams, and has perfected His blessing upon you and upon the family of Jacob just as He perfected it on your forefathers before: Ibrahim and Is-haq (Isaac). Your Lord is Knowing, Wise" (Qur'an, Surah 12 (Yusuf) Ayat 5–6).